The Kimbell Art Museum has acquired a highly important tomb sculpture dating to the period of the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, around 2400 B.C. Standing 14 inches high, it shows a seated court official accompanied by his wife and son. Inscriptions name the principal figure as Ka-nefer, Overseer of the Craftsmen, Priest of Ptah, and the subsidiary figures as His wife, the Royal Confidant, Tjen-tety and His son, the Overseer of Craftsmen, Khuwy-ptah. Carved from limestone, the figures were originally painted and retain much of their color on the hair and eyes, with traces on the skin, garments, and jewelry.

Dr. Timothy Potts, director of the Kimbell Art Museum, commented: “The Old Kingdom was the critical period of Egyptian art, when its distinctive motifs and principles of representation were codified in the classic style that would remain largely unchanged throughout 3,000 years of pharaonic history. Major works of art of this period are very rare, and objects of this aesthetic quality and historical importance virtually never come on the market; there has been nothing comparable since Ka-nefer was last sold at auction in 1989. The acquisition of this beautiful sculpture will provide a new foundation for the Kimbell’s small but very fine Egyptian collection. For our visitors it puts a human face on a civilization that can sometimes seem remote and otherworldly, and will also be a wonderful work from which to teach.”

The group statue was probably made for Ka-nefer’s tomb at Saqqara, the principal burial ground of the Old Kingdom capital, Memphis. While Ka-nefer’s tomb has not been found, two offering tables from it are today in the British Museum, London, and Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. Objects from his son’s tomb at Saqqara have also been found.

The sculpture shows Ka-nefer seated on a block chair and wearing a pleated kilt and a collar, the latter perhaps signifying honors. He holds a cylinder (a common symbol of office) in one hand, and is flanked by his kneeling wife and standing son, each shown with one arm affectionately embracing Ka-nefer’s lower leg. Ka-nefer is represented much larger than the other figures, following the Egyptian artistic convention of indicating rank and importance through scale. His facial features, especially the broad nose, are most closely paralleled in sculptures from the reign of King Sahure (c. 2458-­2446 B.C.), which thus provides an approximate date for this work.

Family-group sculptures first appeared in the Fourth Dynasty (c. 2575-­2465 B.C.) and became more popular in the Fifth (c. 2465­-2323 B.C.). They were made for the tomb or chapel of the principal figure, representing him both as a pious official and as a dutiful head of the family. In Egyptian belief, some tomb sculptures also served as “homes” for the spirits of the deceased, especially when the embalmed body had perished.

The sculpture of Ka-nefer was acquired by the Kimbell Art Museum at auction in New York on December 9, 2005. Originally owned by the French Général Louis André (1838­-1913), it was consigned for sale from a United States private collection.